From Pastor's Desk
Other Subject Matters - Importance of Vows made unto the Lord - Final Part - Minister Oscene Barrett (Chicago)
Scriptures: Deuteronomy 23:18-23 [18] Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow:
for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God. [21] When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee. [22] But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee. [23] That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the LORD thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.
If you are not prepared to fulfill a vow, then they should not vow. If you vow and do not pay you are a sinner. From the passages above on vows, we see that it is binding, but The Lord also teaches that your words on their own are also binding. So if you speak anything and refused to do as you’ve spoken, you have sinned and this sin needs to be repented of.
Judges 11:29-40
[29] Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon. [30] And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, [31] Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.
Two things are apparent here:
1. Jephthah made a vow to God on his own; with no external influence. There was nothing external to occasion this vow, that is, it was self conceived and self driven, and it was not required by God.
2. Since God never required it, Jephthah’s victory over the Ammonites was not contingent upon his vow. In other words, God will not give him victory because He wants what was vowed by Jephthah. Simply put, Jephthah’s vow and God giving him victory in battle are MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE.
The understanding of these two things, are very important. So Jephthah vowed to offer whatsoever comes out of his house to meet him as a burnt offering. Dangerous vow!!!!
[32] So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands. [33] And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel. [34] And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter. [35] And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, "Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back."
Now, "WHATSOEVER" came out to meet Jephthah, but to his surprise, "whatsoever" was his only daughter. What would you do, if you were Brother Jephthah? A few things are apparent:
1. God did not give Jephthah victory because He desires the sacrifice of his only daughter. The scripture is replete with the fact that God DOES NOT desire HUMAN sacrifices. Human sacrifices have always been detested as part of the worship of pagan gods such as Molech. Concomitant with this practice is the burning of corpse, both dead and alive; the former is known as cremation and it has always been a pagan practice.
2. Thou hast brought me very low, was Jephthah’s claim, but why? She came out first instead of someone/something else. He was probably saying, why could not one of my male servants or my wife maid servants or one the animals around the house, or even my wife, but you my Princess.
3. He recognized now the severity of his spoken words, so he said, "I have open my mouth unto the Lord, and cannot take it back." What a situation?
4. Did he have to offer his daughter? No. In fact there is no vow one makes that cannot be taken back, but taking it back will make you a LIAR, DECEIVER, UNTRUTHFUL, etc. These are bad, but the good thing is that ALL these sins are forgivable. Therefore, Jephthah did not have to offer his daughter, but he could have gone to God and asked him to excuse him from this vow (same as forgive me of being a LIAR). I know many people will get upset right here, but let me help a little: there are many vows that we make in life which we never or never will be able to fulfill, which make all of us guilty of LYING, DECEIT, and UNTRUTHFULNESS. How do we get out of these? We admit to being guilty of all and ask God to forgive us of LYING? This is what Jephthah could have done.
[36] And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon.
While Jephthah ponders in his heart what to do, his daughter, clearly a person who loves the Lord, said daddy no need for any pity party. Let your words be your words, no need for you to change for me, and most definitely do not change them for you. I do not want a LIAR as my daddy, so be true to your words.
[37] And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows. [38] And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains.
She asked for a two month leave as her final request of her Dad and it was granted. Unlike the many erroneous interpretation of this scripture, her companions were not male lovers who followed her into the mountain to have sex. These were fellow virgin girls, as can be seen in the customs later among daughters of Israel that patterned her life (vs40)
[39] And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel, [40] That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year (Judges 11:29-40).
Did Jephthah offer his daughter as a burnt sacrifice? Yes, the Bible says he did with her according to her vows.
What are some of the real lessons of Jephthah’s story?
Think before you speak
Honor your word even if the results are not desirable
The blessing of God is independent of your vows, so be careful in vowing
In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not. (Psalms 15:4)
I think David had Jephthah in mind here. This Psalm is dealing with who can abide/dwell/live in the hills of the Lord and one of the requirements to live where God is, is honoring your vows even if it causes pain.
If you want to know more about this and any other topic, please contact us @
